Pure Coffee

continued

"I love having a coffeeshop," says Myers, "but it's a very expensive marketing experiment. That's its intent--to let people come in and try our coffee. If I'd wanted a coffeeshop where people sit around and do their homework, there's a different way to do it."

Not that no one works over a cup of Mighty Good. The shop doubles as the entrance to the new Workantile Exchange, a "coworking facility"--quasi office and networking space for independent contractors. Through the glass you can see members bent over their computers, Mighty Good coffee by their side, very much like students doing their homework--just not in space Myers has to pay the rent for.

Myers grew up in Ypsilanti, son of EMU faculty. Now in his late forties, he used to be a professional photographer traveling all over the world, but he tired of it a few years ago. He bought a small coffee roasting business called Amazing Beans and began educating himself.

Myers' staff is carefully trained in coffee preparation, and he cautions that just getting good beans isn't going to work a miracle. It's important to pay attention to how the coffee is made. "You can buy a steak from Kroger or you can buy one from Bob Sparrow," he points out. "And you can ruin them both."